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  "path": "/2026/07/02/world-cup-team-furious-arsenal-champions-league-final-decision-29020501/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-02T22:20:04.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Football",
    "Sport",
    "Arsenal",
    "Champions League",
    "Jurrien Timber",
    "Mikel Arteta",
    "Netherlands football team",
    "Premier League",
    "Ronald Koeman",
    "World Cup",
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  "textContent": "Mikel Arteta ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League final (Picture: Getty)\n\nThe Netherlands World Cup camp was ‘extremely frustrated’ at Arsenal over Mikel Arteta’s decision to play Jurrien Timber in the Champions League final.\n\nTimber looked set to miss Arsenal’s Champions League final against PSG as he had been out for several months with a groin injury.\n\nBut the 24-year-old came on as a 66th-minute substitute in the final in Budapest, making his first appearance in over two months.\n\nArteta insisted Timber was ‘fit to play’ in the final – which Arsenal lost on penalties – but a week the right-back was ruled out of the World Cup.\n\n##  Don't miss a World Cup moment\n\nEngland's hero (Picture:Getty)\n\nWhat a rollercoaster this has been. Make sense of the drama with **Metro's** free daily newsletter, featuring England updates, match previews and exclusive analysis. Sign up now.\n\nJust nine days after the Champions League final, Netherlands confirmed that Timber would play no part in the World Cup and had been replaced in the squad by Lutsharel Geertruida, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland.\n\nIn a statement, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said Timber had ‘not recovered sufficiently’ to take part in the tournament in a ‘medically responsible manner’.\n\nThey added: ‘In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the national team’s pre-camp in New York after the [friendly] game against Uzbekistan.’\n\nJurrien Timber during the Champions League final (Picture: Getty)\n\nTimber could have been a key player for Netherlands in the World Cup as he has established himself as one of the best right-backs in the world since joining Arsenal from Ajax in 2023.\n\nInstead the Premier League title winner watched on from back home as Ronald Koeman’s side were knocked out of the World Cup in the round-of-32 by Morocco.\n\nTimber was hoping to add to his 23 international caps but was not fit enough to play in the World Cup.\n\nEx-Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman (Picture: Getty)\n\nAccording to The Sun, members of the Dutch World Cup camp are ‘extremely frustrated’ at Arteta’s decision to risk Timber against PSG following his injury setback.\n\nAfter his hopes of playing in the World Cup were over, Timber said: ‘I’m heartbroken to miss the World Cup.\n\n‘Representing my country on the biggest stage is something I’ve always dreamed of, and it’s difficult to accept that injury has taken that opportunity away from me.\n\n> https://www.instagram.com/p/DZX1iIaIr39/?hl=en\n\n‘While this isn’t the path I had hoped for, I trust that God has a plan greater than the one I can see right now.’\n\nNetherlands topped Group F after beating Sweden and Tunisia and drawing with Japan.\n\nLiverpool’s Cody Gakpo appeared to have sent them through to the last-16 against Morocco but the African side scored an injury-time equaliser before winning on penalties.\n\nMorocco knocked Netherlands out (Picture: Getty)\n\nKoeman, 63, stepped down as Netherlands manager after the disappointing World Cup exit.\n\n‘Looking back on my career, I feel especially proud,’ the 63-year-old former Everton and Southampton boss said.\n\n‘I have worked with clubs and people that shaped me and gave me memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.\n\n‘We all dreamed of a World Cup in which we would write history. That didn’t work out. No-one is more disappointed about that than me.\n\n‘The past years have made me realise again that there are more important things than football.\n\n‘Football has been my life, but health is priceless. When someone you love is fighting a tough battle, your perspective changes.’\n\nKoeman has previously revealed that his wife, Bartina, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.\n\n**For more stories like this, check our sport page**.\n\n**Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on**Facebook,** Twitter and Instagram**.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "World Cup team ‘extremely frustrated’ at Arsenal over Champions League final decision"
}